A modality selective effect of functional laterality in pain detection sensitivity

Abstract

The ability to detect environmental changes is essential to determine the appropriate reaction when facing potential threats. Both detection and reaction functions are critical to survival, and the superior performance of motor reaction for the dominant hand is well recognized in humans. However, it is not clear whether there exists laterality in sensitivity to detect external changes and whether the possible laterality is associated with sensory modality and stimulus intensity. Here, we tested whether the perceptual sensitivity and electrophysiological responses elicited by graded sensory stimuli (i.e., nociceptive somatosensory, non-nociceptive somatosensory, auditory, and visual) that were delivered on/near the left and right hands would be different for right-handed individuals. We observed that perceived intensities and most brain responses were significantly larger when nociceptive stimuli were delivered to the left side (i.e., the non-dominant hand) than to the right side (i.e., the dominant hand). No significant difference was observed between the two sides for other modalities. The higher sensitivity to detect nociceptive stimuli for the non-dominant hand would be important to provide a prompt reaction to noxious events, thus compensating for its worse motor performance. This laterality phenomenon should be considered when designing experiments for pain laboratory studies and evaluating regional sensory abnormalities for pain patients.

Cortico-striatal-thalamic loop as a neural correlate of neuroticism in the mind-body interface

“…As for laterality, chief somatic symptoms presented significantly more on the left side than on the right side of the body [50]. Furthermore, the sensitivity to detect transient nociceptive stimuli was higher for the left hand than the right hand for right-handed subjects [51]. As we mentioned in the Methods, all of the subjects in this study were right-handed.…”

Dorsal Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation Improves Pain in Parkinson’s Disease

“…Likewise, the adverse effect of STN DBS is more significant for left-sided stimulation [21]. Zhang and colleagues showed the laterality for nociceptive perception [22]. However, additional study is needed to investigate pain perception laterality and the differential effects of left- and right-sided stimulation.…”

“No pain, no gain”: The impact of autonomous sensory meridian response on pain perception

“…In order to control for any potential fatigue or increased sensitivity, the location of the induction site was moved slightly, although it always remained within 8cm of the elbow joint on the dorsal forearm of the same side. The non-dominant side was used at all times, as previous evidence has suggested variation in pain sensitivity on dominant versus non-dominant sides during pain induction (see Zhang et al, 2021).…”